Africa’s rapid population growth, and even more rapid urbanisation, creates serious sustainability challenges. Like many cities in other parts of the world, African cities try to become ‘green’,... Show moreAfrica’s rapid population growth, and even more rapid urbanisation, creates serious sustainability challenges. Like many cities in other parts of the world, African cities try to become ‘green’, and promote change in urban design and lifestyles to encourage more sustainable living. Many of these initiatives are supported by international agencies and illustrated on agency websites. Studying these websites, we try to answer three related questions dealing with the inclusivity of those initiatives: the geographical coverage (which cities?), the thematic coverage (how ‘holistic’?) and the social inclusivity (how inclusive in terms of social focus?). Both scholars and practitioners should become more inclusive in their approaches to sustainable cities in Africa. Show less
Africa's rapid population growth, and even more rapid urbanisation, creates serious sustainability challenges. Like many cities in other parts of the world, African cities try to become 'green',... Show moreAfrica's rapid population growth, and even more rapid urbanisation, creates serious sustainability challenges. Like many cities in other parts of the world, African cities try to become 'green', and promote change in urban design and lifestyles to encourage more sustainable living. Many of these initiatives are supported by international agencies and illustrated on agency websites. Studying these websites, we try to answer three related questions dealing with the inclusivity of those initiatives: the geographical coverage (which cities?), the thematic coverage (how 'holistic'?) and the social inclusivity (how inclusive in terms of social focus?). Both scholars and practitioners should become more inclusive in their approaches to sustainable cities in Africa. Show less
OURSUS (Our Sustainable Cities) is a flagship IGU project. The OURSUS approach and findings will be discussed in two sessions during the 33rd International Geographical Congress in Beijing: one... Show moreOURSUS (Our Sustainable Cities) is a flagship IGU project. The OURSUS approach and findings will be discussed in two sessions during the 33rd International Geographical Congress in Beijing: one session about 'Chinese and International Experiences' and one about 'The Way Forward'. This paper contributes to the first session: exploring international experiences. It examines the evidence in Africa regarding the intentions of municipalities and their leadership to develop more sustainable cities, and to mobilise business and popular support for more sustainable futures in a continent that is likely to have the fastest urbanization trends in the decades ahead. The paper also compares the approaches of various sustainable city networks in Africa with the OURSUS approach, and it looks at the input of geographers. Show less
